We need to talk about race, even in the North Country

Charlottesville is nowhere near my hometown of Crown Point, New York. Yet the recent acts of racist violence in Virginia stirred up a deep and familiar tension.

I spent a week trying to identify where I remembered this sense of anxiety from.

Then I heard an interview on the radio with a gentleman from Mineville, less than 10 miles from where I grew up, and realized that gnawing feeling was the same one I felt as a teenager growing up here.

You see, I was the black kid. There is some irony in the fact that I am actually mixed—my dad is Italian. But when you are one of so few people of color and you have an afro, those nuances get lost.

The first time I recognized this difference was on my very first bus ride to first grade, when a second-grader serenaded me with the “N” word for 40 minutes on the way to school.

By age 10, I knew whose house or pool was “off limits” because of the color of my skin. I didn’t give it a second thought. It was just the way it was.

In high school, things became much harder. I learned that the color of my skin was an invitation to bodily harm. I had to “keep my head on a swivel,” knowing that my presence might provoke trouble when I was at a dance, a game, or just walking to a friend’s house. I quickly learned that after a soccer game, many on the opposing team would avoid shaking my hand. I accepted that I couldn’t date certain girls. I learned to defend myself out of necessity.

And now? To be honest, the N-word still sends a shiver down my spine. To this day, it is a powerful tool to dehumanize black people, and I am no less vulnerable.

This brings me back to that radio interview, in which a guy from the North Country talked about race in a way that misses the bigger conversation happening in our country today.

Charlottesville was a reminder of the threat that can exist simply by being different. In order to be the America we want to be we have to denounce white supremacist hate groups without hesitation. And we have to hold accountable anyone who fails to do so—even our president.

In the same way my childhood friends Nathan and Anita would shut down bigots in my defense, our country needs all of us to stand up against these hate groups and those who tacitly allow them to persist.

I get it — talking about civil rights probably feels irrelevant in the North Country. Perhaps it even feels threatening if you aren’t black or brown.

But please keep in mind that this conversation about race emerged because of the same things I confronted in high school. And in cities like Chicago, where I now live and work, that threat of physical harm is multiplied by a thousand. Lives are at stake.

We are better than what happened in Charlottesville. We need more of what is in the pictures coming out of the rescue efforts in Houston than what we saw in Virginia. We need to see each other’s humanity and embrace our differences. That’s America.

So, here’s my simple request:

Find someone different from you, introduce yourself, and spend some time with them. Get to know them. Embrace humanity. Most importantly, vocally denounce racism in any form, like my good friends have on my behalf countless times.

I loved growing up in the Adirondacks. I love visiting to share it with my family. I love the people—for their warmth and welcoming nature. So I hope you will hear me as one of your own. Perhaps a little different on the outside, but a North Country kid in my soul.

— Daniel Anello is the Chief Executive Officer of New Schools for Chicago

Comments (3)

Why do we need to talk about race?

When I think more deeply about the subject, I ask myself: WHY is it necessary at all to talk about a topic that has been talked about and debated extensively at least since the civil war? Why bring race into issues of real importance to not just the North Country, but to any community?

Aren't the issues of importance to local communities things like snow removal, road maintenance, etc.? In fact, the articles in this newspaper provide an excellent cross section of what issues are of interest to ALL residents of local communities regardless of their ethnicity or race. Three feet of snow buries blacks, whites and everyone else equally!

I would think it is a pretty safe bet that most, if not all, non-white North Country residents are more concerned about common problems of snow removal and the cost of fuel oil than talking about a topic kept alive mainly by professional race baiters.

David Safrany4 days ago

YOUR racism is showing!

"Charlottesville was a reminder of the threat that can exist simply by being differently. In order to be the America we want to be we have to denounce white supremacist hate groups without hesitation. And we have to hold accountable anyone who fails to do so -- even our president."UTTER NONSENSE!White supremacist hate groups have been denounced and held accountable for their actions for several decades of my lifetime. What has NOT been held accountable are the black/minority racists who portray THEMSELVES as bimbos, prostitutes, drug dealers, gang members, etc. instead of the vast majority of good people who they really are. The Hollywood "celebrities" denouncing Whitey are by far the worst offenders. Actions speak louder than words. People become indoctrinated through repetitive example​.And to infer that President Trump is a racist white supremacist is simply ludicrous.

David Safrany11 days ago

Race baiting is a major industry.

My experience, and that of many blacks with whom I have spoken, is that the best way to handle racism is to ignore it. People may suffer in the short term but eventually it will disappear. There is a HUGE industry in this country making an EXTREMELY lavish living by keeping racism alive. I'm sorry to disagree with all the race baiters, of which there are plenty, but it's not "Whitey" who screws blacks (and other ethnic groups groups) but their own people.Don't believe me? How about starting with the Hollywood sicko blacks such as Denzel Washington? Talk about the "N" word? "Training Day" is a good example of Hollywood promoted racism. Every other word from Washington's mouth to his white police partner is "My Nigger!" But that's perfectly acceptable! If Mr. Washington had any personal integrity, he should have refused the role. I WOULD HAVE.I'll believe Hollywood is making serious attempts to combat racism when they stop giving the ARMY of blacks and other minorities a venue from which to spew their race baiting hatred disguised as caring. STOP 24/7 RACE BAITING!!!!